ELECTRICAL SAFETY LAW
Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 479.510 to 479.945 and 479.995 (2015 Edition)
(Table of Contents with Brief Summations)
479.510 Short title. See above.
479.520 Purpose. To protect the health and safety of the people of Oregon from electrical problems through 5 described procedures. See text.
479.525 Application of Electrical Safety Law; uniformity. Self-explanatory, see text.
479.530 Definitions for ORS 479.510 TO 479.945 and 479.995. See the 23 listed entries in text.
479.540 Exemptions; rules. This lengthy section lists 21 exemptions to requirements for licensing, permitting, and other Electrical Safety Law requirements. Review text thoroughly.
479.545 License required of state employee; letter of authority. Allows state workers possessing a “letter of authority” under ORS 479.545 (1985 Replacement Part) to continue to work at property owned or controlled by a state agency. See text.
479.550 No work on new electrical installation until permit issued; temporary permit; rules. Generally requires a permit be obtained prior to start of work, but refers to “rule” provisions to require issuance of a temporary permit for emergencies valid for 7 days. Mandates revocation of temporary permit for noncompliance with Electrical Safety Law.
479.560 Issuance of permit; when permit becomes void; master electrical inspection permit; rules. Self-explanatory, but read text for interesting details.
479.565 Master individual inspection permits; fee. Requires a municipality to participate in the “master electrical permit” program, where they otherwise choose not to, when so requested by any qualifying entity. See the note that follows this section.
479.570 Energizing of electrical installations; rules. Describes the requirements and exceptions governing the serving utility’s authority to energize an electrical installation. See text for details.
479.610 Installation of uncertified electrical product prohibited. Self-explanatory but look carefully at text, and also see NEC 90.7 and OAR 918-306.
479.620 Certain electrical license required; electrical installations by unlicensed persons prohibited. Self-explanatory; see text for details of 6 specific situations.
479.630 Requirements for obtaining licenses; rules. In almost 3 full pages and 16 subsections, this lengthy section covers requirements for obtaining a license in many different categories. See text for details.
479.632 Applicant training or experience obtained in another state. Requires equivalency to state of Oregon’s training and experience requirements for out of state applicants seeking a license in Oregon.
479.670 Maintenance of action or suit by unlicensed person prohibited. Prevents unlicensed person from “seeking a court settlement;” see text for exact wording.
479.680 Adoption of rules by Electrical and Elevator Board; establishment of continuing education program. This section describes general authority and responsibilities of the Electrical and Elevator Board in “rule-making,” which do not deal only with continuing education! See text for details.
479.710 Electrical installations must meet minimum safety standards. Self-explanatory; define “minimum safety standard,” and see text for other details about documents.
479.730 Adoption of rules by Director of Department of Consumer and Business Services. Discusses the rule-making regarding 7 specific areas. See text for details. (see also ORS 479.680)
479.740 Factors to be considered in adopting rules; incorporation of standards by reference. Tells the rule makers what to consider in the process of actually making the rules. See text for details.
479.760 Certification of electrical products; safety indicators. Discusses options for product certification in the state of Oregon; read text and also see OAR 918 division 306.
479.770 Approved electric ignition pilot required on certain appliances. See text.
479.810 Administration and enforcement; Chief Electrical Inspector; inspector qualifications; rules. This part discusses aspects of the Chief Electrical inspector and the processes by which a person may be certified as an electrical inspector. See text.
479.815 Inspector conflicts of interest; rules. New in 2003, this section addresses installations made by an inspector or a relative of the inspector.
479.820 Duties and powers in enforcing law. Six subsections describe in some detail the legal aspects of involvement with electrical stuff by the Department of Consumer and Business Services. See the text for details.
479.835 Recovery of purchase price of product not meeting applicable laws. Any person has the legal right to return for refund of purchase price any electrical product that is not listed or otherwise certified to comply with the minimum safety standard -- within 90 days of purchase.
479.840 Fees; rules; means to guarantee payment. This section discusses all the different fees for contractor, electrician, permit (by rule), and examination categories. These are listed in the text.
479.845 Limitation on use of local government fees. Requires that a city or county collecting fees for the enforcement of the electrical specialty code, that those fees be used only for that purpose.
479.850 Disposition of receipts. See text.
479.853 Appeal procedure; distribution of major code interpretation decisions. This section describes the layers of the appeal process when the ruling by an “authority having jurisdiction”(inspector) is challenged or appealed. See the text for exact detail.
479.854 Authority of municipality to require license; approval of ordinance. A city may require a special “municipal general supervising electrician’s license” for installations within the city that are of a unique character. And this municipal authority can be revoked by the “director,” if it is found to be used by the city to discriminate against electricians from outside of the city. See text for exact wording.
479.855 City and county inspection and enforcement programs. See text for details.
479.860 Person authorized to design, plan and lay out electrical installations; rules. When employed by an electrical contractor or an industrial plant, a supervising electrician may design, plan and lay out, electrical installations for the customers of the contractor or at the industrial plant where employed. See the text for precise wording.
479.870 Electrical and Elevator Board to prescribe uniform fee calculation and permit format; review; rules. Self-explanatory, and discusses “separate limited energy electrical permit” and plan review stuff to be addressed by “rule.”
479.905 Definitions for ORS 479.870 and 479.905 to 479.945. See 5 more definitions to add to those found in 479.530 which are used only in this back section of the statutes—limited energy electrical activity. See text.
479.910 Limited energy technician license; compliance with other laws; fees; continuing education. Self-explanatory; see text.
479.915 Limited energy technician license requirements. This deals only with limited energy electrical activity; see text for more.
479.940 Activities not subject to licensure under ORS 479.510 to 479.945; identification cards. Self-explanatory.
479.943 Activities not subject to licensure under ORS 479.905 to 479.945. Discusses restricted energy; see text.
479.945 Restricted energy contractor’s license; rules; scope; employees. This section covers some somewhat unique requirements for only the restricted energy category. See text for exact details and see OAR 918-282-0060 for scope of work for Restricted Energy Contractor License.
479.995 Civil penalty for violation of ORS 479.540 to 479.945. (This is in the PENALTIES section.)
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